Win gives Arizona Cardinals boost of credibility

The game was forgettable. The moment was forever. The outcome was just what Bruce Arians and Carson Palmer needed.

Officially, a 25-21 victory over the Lions on Sunday was Arians’ first victory as a head coach. This is an absurd statistic, as it occurred seven months after Arians won NFL Coach of the Year honors, and two months after he walked the red carpet at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

Technically, all those wins in Indianapolis don’t count because Arians was an interim coach, and because the incumbent (Chuck Pagano) returned before the end of the season.

So why is this one so important?

Start with the schedule, which includes upcoming road trips to New Orleans and Tampa. Had the Cardinals lost on Sunday, they might’ve returned to University of Phoenix Stadium with a 0-4 record. The pressure that accompanies a winless September would’ve been exacerbated by Arians’ preseason optimism, namely that the Cardinals have enough talent to be a surprise playoff team.

His stated objective was to score a point per minute of possession. That isn’t happening. But the plan to win all eight home games? That’s still intact.

And for a coach who rallied the fan base by saying all the right things in training camp, this early-season victory keeps all the swagger and hope alive.

“It’s always special,” Arians said. “You never know when you’re going to get it. We are going on a really tough road trip. I am very happy we got it at home. We have to win at home. Scratch out a few on the road, and you’ll be in the playoffs.”

Meanwhile, there isn’t much about Palmer’s 55th career victory that warrants celebration. The Cardinals were brutally bad on third-down conversions (1 for 11). His quarterback rating was 73.5, or 45 points fewer than Patrick Peterson’s. His second interception of the season looked terrible to the naked eye, and was returned for a 66-yard touchdown, staking the Lions to a 21-13 lead.

Like Arians, Palmer has said all the right things since joining the Cardinals. But this is a production business, and not a talk show. Lose this game, and Palmer’s honeymoon in Arizona might’ve ended prematurely.

Certainly, all those off-season comparisons to Kurt Warner would seem ludicrous and hollow.

Granted, Palmer’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter won’t make his personal scrapbook. It featured a great run from Andre Ellington and a key third-down conversion courtesy of a pass-interference penalty. But it happened just the same. And it happened without Larry Fitzgerald on the field.

That’s significant.

“You wouldn’t know it was the game-winning drive,” Palmer said. “You wouldn’t know we were down by two. It was probably our last chance to touch the ball for the game, (but) there weren’t any wide eyes from the young guys or scared looks. Everybody just talked about doing their job and getting out there and scoring.”

When asked if he explicitly told his younger teammates to minimize the moment, Palmer shook his head.

“I called the plays and made sure everyone knew their play and knew their adjustments,” he said. “Everybody in that huddle has played a lot of football. You’ve been in that situation down by two with a couple of minutes left from pee wee to high school to college, and then now. So nothing needs to be said.

“We have a smart group of guys, guys that have been there before. Maybe not at this level, but it’s the same moment, whether you’re playing at Clemson or Arizona State.”

While the quarterback downplayed his late-game leadership, Arians commended Palmer’s poise and presence under duress. The scoring drive was everything the team couldn’t do in St. Louis, where the Cardinals squandered an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and failed to finish the game on either side of the ball.

It was also a step forward for Palmer, who admitted to his coach that he had happy feet midway through the game, a quarterback who had grown a bit jittery due to another day of heavy pressure in the pocket.

But this time, the offensive line held up down the stretch. So did the quarterback. They found a way to prevail, even if the aesthetics left something to be desired.

“Letting a division game go on the road was a big disappointment,” offensive lineman Daryn Colledge said. “So to come back here and continue to protect our home, that’s what we needed. It was important to get some momentum going.”

Now, they have a victory in pocket. And if they can steal a game on the road in the next two weeks, September will be a highly successful opening act for the new guys in town.

Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Follow him at twitter.com/danbickley. Listen to “The Dan Bickley Show with Vince Marotta,” weekdays from noon to 2 p.m. on Arizona Sports 620 (KTAR-AM).

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